Chief Academic Officer

Chief Academic Officer

Lynn Public Schools is guided by its mission, vision, and core values.

Mission - The Lynn Public Schools commits to providing our students with a safe inclusive learning environment that inspires and promotes individual academic and personal growth.

Vision - Drawing upon the strength of our community, our families, our students, and our partners, Lynn Public Schools commits to supporting the intellectual, vocational, academic and social-emotional success of all of our students. We create equitable conditions for all students to thrive in a global society. With a focus on equity, excellence, and innovation, the district serves 17,193 students across 28 schools. 

Core Values - The Lynn Public Schools community celebrates that we live in a rapidly changing, increasingly diverse and connected world. In our partnered effort to prepare students for this world, we are equally committed to:

• Inclusiveness
• Shared responsibility
• Collaborative relationships
• High expectations
• Inspiring life-long learning

Position Summary:

The Chief Academic Officer (CAO) reports to the Superintendent and serves as a member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT). The CAO is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the learning experience for all students from pre-K-12, including support for placement in college. Using an anti-racist and equity lens, the CAO establishes an inspiring, comprehensive academic vision with rigorous student outcome goals in alignment with the overall strategic plan, leads the design and implementation of its full instructional model and program, and supports the implementation of outstanding student results by regularly monitoring student progress and school performance. The CAO will collaborate with the Superintendent and other ELT members to ensure our schools are places where our students thrive every day. Together, we will ensure scholars have the skills and confidence they need to be successful in college, career, and beyond.  

A Successful Candidate will:

• Communicate and embody district culture and core values.
• Lead with the highest ethics, build relationships based on trust, and inspire and motivate others to achieve rigorous goals.
• Develop district leaders through coaching, project management, and impact on student learning initiatives.
• Establish and implement a strong academic vision with clear measurable goals.
• Partner with school leadership to meet all academic goals, ensuring sustainable instructional teams throughout the organization.
• Oversee the organizational process to align critical outcomes and measures of success for students, staff, and schools to ensure we are achieving our mission by operating high-quality schools.
• Support the integration of the multi-year Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion roadmap into all curricular and instructional endeavors.

QUALIFICATIONS 

Skills and Qualifications:

• Ability to set a clear academic vision and aligned priorities, develop strategic plans, and empower others to achieve them.
• Deep knowledge and experience in the design, integration, implementation, and management of school systems including knowledge of curricula, instructional practices, school operations and management, and teacher and leader development. 
• Structures work–can frame key questions, analyze/work to resolve those questions; can divide work into discrete pieces with clear activities/deliverables; thinks about the interdependencies of projects/efforts and proactively manages those touchpoints.
• Drives action, delivers results by proactively recognizing and addressing challenges; thinks beyond today and incorporates a long game perspective into the planning and execution.
• Ability to work independently but also works collaboratively on several district and school level teams.
• Supervise the Data, Accountability, and Assessment Department to support the intersection of the technical aspects of data platforms with the instructional use of data to drive instruction.
• Comfort with ambiguity, willing to work to resolve open questions and challenges, and can define a process to resolve conflict. 
• Concise and effective verbal and written communication skills–can talk easily to a variety of audiences.
• Self-motivated and tenacious, provides meaningful analysis and insights, seeks opportunities to create non-existent processes.
• Ability to work urgently in a fast-paced and results-oriented environment. 
• Ability to exercise excellent judgment in decision-making.
• Demonstrated effectiveness in exceptional people leadership and management, including selection and hiring, coaching and development, managing and improving performance, building inclusive and effective adult learning culture.
• Ability to be flexible and adapt to changing priorities. 
• Experience dismantling systems of oppression for students with adults and in schools.
• Ability to synthesize knowledge and present it to stakeholders in a comprehensive manner.
• Strong organizational and planning skills. 

Education and Knowledge:  

• Minimum of a master’s in education from an accredited four-year institution, plus 5 years of proven teaching excellence 
• Minimum 7 years of experience in a school leader/principal role with a record of achieving outstanding academic results for students in an urban community.
• Minimum 3 years of experience managing and/or coaching school leaders/principals to drive student academic results. 
• 7-10 years of experience with supervision of faculty, curriculum development, assessment, instructional enabling systems, and tools, and building and executing an instructional strategy 
• Experience with grants administration
• A systems-level thinker and builder; demonstrates change management and organizational development skills and regularly models this level of leadership.
• A leader with a record of accomplishment of achieving excellence with equity; experience directly leading affirming and empowering schools with a record of achieving outstanding academic and social results for students from poor communities. 
• Approaches all issues with an explicit values-based lens and brings a skill set that includes getting to the root of adaptive challenges and tackling equity issues manifested at the systemic level.
• A life-long learner who is deeply passionate about supporting all scholars through a strong instructional and curricular design, socio-emotional learning, and pedagogy. 
• Thorough knowledge of educational policies, procedures, standards, and ethics guidelines.
• Considerable knowledge and experience with supervision, organizational management, administration, current literature and research, implementation of best practices and methods in academia. 

REQUIREMENTS

 Key Responsibilities: 

•  Ensure equitable access to high quality educational services and programs for all students by developing and administering budgets, policies, and procedures that center the needs of our historically marginalized students.
• Oversees accountability measure for the achievement of all academic programs and develops the District Prioritization Plan.
• Collaborates with Deputy Superintendents to develop and drive all policies and procedures for academics including grading policy, student progression from K-12, scheduling guidelines, and programs of study for grades 6-12.
• Supervises, evaluates, and directs the district instructional leaders: Assistant Directors of Curriculum and Instruction, Executive Director of Multilingual Learners, and Literacy and Academic coaches.
• Supports the Superintendent developing leaders such as Executive Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Executive Director of Data, Assessment & Accountability, and the Executive Director of Innovation & Grants.
• Sets the vision and leads the implementation of the instructional vision, strategy, and program to achieve breakthrough student results, promotes a strong culture of teaching and learning excellence, and fosters educational equity for all scholars.
• Plans, organizes, and conducts professional development activities, coordinates curriculum and instruction projects, conferences, events, and activities. 
• Oversees the development of an effective change management plan to achieve this vision including metrics, indicators, and key initiatives that align to the broader strategic plan.
• Leads the development and selection of high-quality instructional materials and aligns assessments across academic disciplines and grade levels to serve students at all levels.
• Oversees program design, implementation, and achievement of all specialized learning groups, including students with disabilities and emergent bilingual and multilingual students. 
• In partnership with the coaching team, oversees the support and development of teachers and school academic leaders to implement curriculum in a highly effective way, including professional development for teachers in pedagogy and content.
• Uses data effectively to drive instructional practice and, in collaboration with the ELT, improve and adjust academic strategy and program. 
• Maintains a timely awareness of the promising practices and innovations in programs and policies for teaching, learning, and school design that are emerging locally and nationwide.
• Creates proactive systems that garner feedback from stakeholders to inform school support and school improvement strategy and practice collaboratively with ELT.
• Regularly monitors student progress on goal setting and interim measures to ensure all scholars are on track for achievement of post-secondary goals. 
• Serves as a member of the ELT to achieve district’s accountability goals 
• Consistently models mission, beliefs, and values and collaborates with leadership to achieve exceptional student results.
• Makes leadership decisions with students’ and families’ best interests and needs in mind and holds peers and staff accountable to do the same.
• Leads, develops, manages, and evaluates the Curriculum and Instruction team. 
• Exercises strong judgment in making critical decisions about implementing systemic administrative reform to support district goals and eliminate achievement gaps.
• Leverages effective change management practices and strategies that are people- and relationship-centric.
• Establishes a vision of educational equity for all students as a guiding principle across all districts and school teams.
• Ensures alignment of curriculum, instruction, and program offerings, including for all special population students and services and assists in determining types of programs needed in schools to support School Improvement Plans for all schools.
• Develops district strategies and ensures that schools identified by Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) as targeted or in need of assistance are supported through the Targeted Assistance Grant (TAG) with additional resources. 
• Prepares and delivers written and oral presentations on academics to the school committee, principals, teachers, families, and community groups.
• Conducts instructional and programmatic equity audits to ensure curriculum, assessment, and instructional programs are culturally responsive. 
• Compliance with all academic Massachusetts DESE and Federal requirements and regulations.

REPORTS TO:            Superintendent

EVALUATED BY:        Superintendent

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT:                  

• Twelve-month position.
• The nature of this position requires hours beyond the regular school day. It is expected that the person filling this position will give priority to completing the necessary tasks and set hours accordingly.  

BASE SALARY:        $165,000

Salary and fringe benefits to be established by the Superintendent in accordance with the policies established by the School Committee.  

BENEFITS:  The City of Lynn offers comprehensive and competitive health and dental benefits; Harvard Pilgrim PPO/HMO, Altus Dental High/Low, and Vision. Life Insurance, Flexible Spending Plan (FSA) as well as Short Term Disability and Long Term Disability are available on a voluntary basis. 

An offer of employment is contingent upon successful completion of a pre-employment physical, including a drug test, National fingerprint-based Criminal Background Check (NCBC), and Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI). 

 All MUST be completed PRIOR to the start of employment.

Non-Discrimination Policy  

It is the policy of the Lynn Public Schools not to unlawfully discriminate on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, marital status, familial status, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, race, color, national origin, creed/religion, ethnicity, ancestry, age, genetic information, active military/veteran status, mental or physical disability, special need, proficiency in the English language or academic achievement or any other consideration made unlawful by any federal, state or local laws or regulations, including Title VI and VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the 1972 Amendments to the Civil Rights Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and M.G.L. Ch. 76:5, M.G.L., Ch.151, if and as applicable. Race, when referenced in any policy of the Lynn Public Schools, whether or not specified, shall include traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture, hair type, hair length and protective hairstyles.

Salary : $165,000